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What Love is…..

I have been pondering what love really is. We all say we love someone, but in actuality, very few of us understand what love is. I was reminded that I had found the answer when I was in High School…I remember clearly the day I understood it. I determined that the word ‘love’ really has several meanings. Love when used about something other than a person or pet really means you “really like” something. Love when used between two people who are sexually attracted to each other is not love but a hormonal imbalance that creates an infatuation with someone. In effect, you can hardly think about anything else in this instance.
Love when you get to the true sense of the Word, means….what am I willing to give up for someone else? It means do I care more about them then about me? This is the Love that God had for us when Jesus came to the earth. First Jesus gave up his royal heritage, and took on the body of a human that he had created in the first place. He took the abuse and eventually the vengeance they heaped upon him, and finally he gave his life for us. No one took it from him the bible tells us, he gave it up, and even as he hung on the cross he could have called angels to come and take him off it and cancel the whole plan. But he didn’t.

So what that means to us, is…..What am I willing to give up for someone else. Will I give up my life? Will I do things for them, at the cost of not doing stuff for me? Will I desire the best for them, and take 2nd best? I think the biggest test of love is whether I am willing to put away my selfishness and control, so they can truly be free. If I don’t allow those I love to be free, then self concern for me has taken precedent in my life.

Ultimately we as people are selfish because we want everything our way….when we can’t have it, just like little kids, we throw ourselves on the floor and throw a fit. As we become more mature we realize that in this world there is trouble and we will never have it our way all the time. We also realize that throwing fits is not acceptable in our society.

It was interesting to me that once I really looked at the result of selfishness, what I found was that selfishness was at the root of every sin, every illegal act, every murder, everything. Can you think of any sin or any crime that doesn’t have it’s beginning in selfishness? I can’t….Every single one, when you follow it to it’s source will lead you to selfishness.

*Heavenly Father, help us to turn from our selfishness, and begin to love as you love us.